Less Teen Pregnancy

LETTERS FROM READERS

October 18, 1998

THANK YOU, Mark Pino, for your recent column on the ENABL (Education Now and Babies Later) program for Osceola sixth-graders. Although the goal of ENABL is to help children postpone sexual involvement, basically it teaches children to think for themselves and make the right choices in any risky situation.

They learn to interpret media messages, to deal with manipulation and pressure from others, and to communicate with parents and peers. Teen facilitators learn leadership skills and the true rewards of helping others.

Early sexual environment can lead to pregnancy, disease, and social, emotional and economic setbacks. The statistics are staggering. The United States leads all industrialized nations in teen pregnancy.

Florida ranks 10th in the nation in the rate of live births to children 10-14 years of age. There were more than 300 births to Osceola teen mothers last year. One in every six people will contract a sexually transmitted disease before the age of 21. Almost 48 percent of the welfare caseload is composed of women who had their first child as a teen.

The ENABL program has a proven value in Osceola County. The results of a Florida State University study support the findings that the ENABL curriculum enhances the knowledge of sixth-graders regarding teen pregnancy issues.

Under the guidance of Sandi Miller, prevention director for the Osceola County Health Department, adult and teen volunteers donated more than 1,500 hours to ENABL last fall. The Osceola program has received many commendations.

Ideally, the ENABL program should continue to benefit many children, and it could be expanded to the eighth- and 10th-grade levels to reinforce the curriculum. Unfortunately, state ENABL funding has ended, and without monetary support it is in danger of ending.